Sunday, August 26, 2012

In the late afternoon, I often fortify
myself for the remainder of the day by enjoying a cup of strong tea, along with
a sweet of some sort (better than a shot of bourbon, I reason). Tender scones
served

with homemade jam and good butter is my favorite teatime fare. I have to
admit I don’t make jam or preserves much, but occasionally I get the urge,
because it’s so much better than the stuff in the jar

you buy at the
supermarket. The scones, made with buttermilk, lemon zest and brown sugar, are
very easy to make, as they are mixed up in the food processor before the final
addition of

buttermilk is mixed in by hand. Try not to handle the dough too
much at this point – it just needs to be kneaded gently a few times to come
together before it’s rolled out. The raspberry jam, also flavored with a little
lemon zest, is remarkably easy to make. You can even serve it warm, if you
like, though it will be more like a sauce than a jam at this point.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Last Wednesday, August 15th,
would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday, an event which was
widely reported in the media. In honor of this occasion, I reflected on how
Julia influenced my own life and career. As a child, I religiously watched her
on The French Chef, just like every
other cooking-crazed youth of my generation. As a teenager, I decided I wanted
to go to Smith College pretty much based on my knowledge that Julia was an
alumna. And after

graduation, when I met Julia and her husband Paul at a party,
I asked her where she thought I should go to cooking school. She suggested La
Varenne in Paris, so that’s where I went (when Julia talked, I listened…). I
met Julia a few other times. One year, the magazine I edited (Chocolatier), named her our Hall of Fame
recipient (I mean, really, who could top Julia for this honor?). She came to
the event and made a little speech, and I walked her around a bit, though she
was a little shaky on her feet. A&E was filming, so we both ended up in the
final two minutes of Julia’s biography program. What I loved most about Julia
was her love for life, which

she displayed so fervently through her love of
food. She always seemed to be comfortable in her own skin, always ready to
laugh, have a little drink and then something wonderful to eat. And when she
made a mistake during one of her cooking segments, she didn’t take it too
seriously – she understood that one little slip-up did not necessarily spoil
the soufflé.

In honor of her birthday, I made a recipe
that came from the TV series Baking With
Julia. It’s a Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake, a simple recipe that
suited Julia’s taste perfectly. Nothing too over-the-top, just a simple cake
made with deliciously ripe nectarines and a layer of almond streusel. If I had
remembered, I would’ve stuck a few birthday candles in the finished cake. But
then again, I don’t think Julia was so big on gimmicks. For her, it was all
about the food and, of course, the technique.
Thanks for everything, Julia – you’ll always be the best, in my book.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

The pie bug has officially bitten me, and
while strolling through the farmer’s market yesterday some bright red cherries
called out to me. I do love cherry pie, probably
because it reminds me of two of my favorite things: summer and diners. While I enjoy all forms of cherry

pie (from
individual ‘hand pies’ to freeform galettes) my favorite is probably a
double-crust country fair style pie. But when it’s hot out, I don’t necessarily
want to be messing around too much with pie dough, so I opt for a simpler version
of the classic: a crumble-

topped pie that half pie, half crisp. The crust is my
basic pie dough, adapted from my book Diner
Desserts, and has butter and shortening in it. The butter is for flavor,
the shortening for flakiness. If you happen to be firmly in the
pie-crust-made-with-just-butter camp, though, by all means just use butter
(personally,

shortening is my friend, and I’m not afraid to use a bit of it
when necessary). The filling is a straight-forward one made with sweet
cherries, sugar, cornstarch and a little lemon zest to boost the flavor. The
crumble topping, which comes together quickly in the food processor, is made
with slivered almonds, brown sugar, butter and a bit of cinnamon, a combination
of flavors that works beautifully with cherries. Serve it with whipped cream,
whipped crème fraiche, or vanilla or almond ice cream for a little slice of
heaven.

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Tish Boyle

About Me

Hi! I'm Tish Boyle, and I'm a cookbook author and editor specializing in desserts. I'm currently the co-editor of Dessert Professional magazine, a trade magazine for the baking and pastry industries. I'm the former editor of Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design magazines, and a graduate of Smith College and La Varenne École de Cuisine in Paris. I've worked in lots of positions in the food biz, including hostess at the coffee shop at The Playboy Club (where, among other things, I blew up bunny balloons); cook on a barge traveling the canals of Burgundy and Bordeaux; a caterer, pastry chef, and food stylist for advertising. I was also an associate editor at Good Housekeeping magazine and a freelance recipe developer for several food companies and magazines. I'm the author of Diner Desserts (Chronicle Books, 2000), The Good Cookie (John Wiley & Sons, 2002), The Cake Book (John Wiley & Sons, 2006) and Flavorful: 150 Irresistible Desserts in All-Time Favorite Flavors (HMH, 2015). I live and bake in Palm City, Florida (where it's almost always HOT) with my husband and two charming cats, Teddy and Freddy. Visit my Web site at www.tishboyle.com.